Temp Employee Stores, Grooming, and Other Resources

Temp agencies and their employees would benefit in a major way from having their own in-house employee stores that would market required employee uniforms for employment assignments. Temp employees would not have to spend perhaps considerable lengths of time searching store after store for uniforms or elements of uniforms that they do not already have, and temp agencies would earn significant revenues/profits from their in-house store ventures. The agencies could advance the attire and/or shoes, etc. to their employees and wholly or incrementally deduct costs from employees’ pay, or temps could pay with cash, debit, or credit cards. 

If a temp store does not have a particular uniform size or color, the agency should be capable of readily purchasing and retrieving it from their supplier or another approved merchant and advancing it to the relevant employee. 

Temp employee stores, which should also market toiletry items like soap, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, combs, tooth paste, etc., could be incorporated into existent staffing facilities, if the facilities are sizable enough, and/or agencies could lease or purchase additional commercial space next door and/or, preferably, within vicinity of their facilities for this purpose.

Showers

It is certainly not far-fetched for staffing agencies to have showers, particularly those that employ individuals for manual labor, like construction, etc. and that offer moonlighting opportunities and/or those that hire individuals who are homeless or indigent and might not initially have basic grooming resources that they need. The agencies could also retroactively charge for use of their showers…

Housing and Other Resources

Of course a goal for agencies that hire homeless individuals should be to help or link these particular employees to affordable housing. I discussed in a previous post how staffing agencies could really profit from realty ventures or purchasing apartments to rent to their employees (Here too, the agencies could deduct their employees’ rent from their pay)...

A labor pool in Atlanta where workers literally slept in cardboard boxes around the facility comes to mind. This particular facility had an empty building next door to it that I thought was ideal to transform into shelter for these workers, not all of whom were homeless, though they too would sleep on the ground around the facility to be among the first in line for work (Witnessing this clearly evidenced that a lot of people (primarily African Americans in this context) who are not gainfully employed really want to work, and are risking their lives for it). This particular agency sat across from a rapid rail Marta station on the west side of Atlanta, though they (the agency and the rail station) were separated by freight train tracks that workers would typically cross, despite the active freight train activity. I thought of how there should be a bridge that the workers and others who reside in that community could utilize to walk from the Marta station to the staffing agency and/or the side of the street on which it is located (though this agency is currently closed). 

Of course, not all staffing agencies are separated from a rapid rail station by freight train tracks. Every agency is unique and should consider how their location might impact their workers. An agency in Memphis is, ideally, situated next to an affordable extended stay hotel.

Transportation

Staffing agencies like Labor Ready, etc. provide transportation assistance for their temps, and others that do not should consider it, where there is a need. Getting available workers to and from work sites is of vital importance.

Beauticians and Barbers

Temp agencies could additionally have their own in-house barbers and beauticians for the benefit of their employees. Barber/beauty shops could be placed next door to the agencies and could see other clients when they are not busy with agency employees, who could be serviced up front and have costs deducted from their pay.

Computers and Professional Development

All staffing agencies should have computers for temps to utilize for professional development (skills training) and testing, resume writing and editing, Linkedin and personal website development, etc., and for other synonymous purposes.   

In Summation and Conclusion

Temp/employment agencies should go the extra mile to make certain that their employees are properly groomed and are looking and feeling their very best. This helps them to best perform their jobs and represent the agencies in a manner that they, their clients and their customers can value and esteem.